Wednesday, December 14, 2005

Wonders in the Heavens: New Scientist SPACE - Strange new object found at edge of Solar System

New Scientist SPACE - Breaking News - Strange new object found at edge of Solar System: "A large object has been found beyond Pluto travelling in an orbit tilted by 47 degrees to most other bodies in the solar system. Astronomers are at a loss to explain why the object's orbit is so off-kilter while being almost circular."

Tentatively named 2004 XR190, the object appears to have a diameter of between 500 and 1000 kilometres, making it somewhere between a fifth and nearly half as wide as Pluto. It lies in a vast ring of icy bodies beyond Neptune called the Kuiper Belt, most of which orbit in nearly the same plane as Earth.

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